Misguided Ghosts
by Seph Meadowes
Summary: AU. He was born out of blood and anger for the cause of a war and he would die in blood but there was no anger because for once in his life, Riley truly felt loved. Riley/Angela. Formerly titled 'Everlasting Sunshine'. Complete.
1. And run from them

_I'm going away for a while  
But I'll be back, don't try and follow me  
'Cause I'll return as soon as possible  
See I'm trying to find my place  
But it might not be here where I feel safe  
We all learn to make mistakes_

**- Misguided Ghosts, Paramore**

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Her pulse was quick with anxiety and nervousness, the quick constant rhythm alerting him to her presence. He mentally thanked whatever being had let the ignorant girl go into the woods in the middle of the night, all by herself no less.

He would scoff at human stupidity if he wasn't so hungry, having been weeks since he had a taste of human blood, his only sustenance came from the beasts that lingered in the forest, the smart ones had evacuated after the first few nights and the forest was empty of any noise since all the birds left.

It was a beautiful night, a blue moon was up in the sky, the stars were twinkling and the woods had a glow to it, the darkness concealing all that was unsightly, perfecting everything for a moonlit walk. Not that he was able to find any tacky couples or hikers in the woods since the battle, leaving him to feast on animals no stronger than a squirrel.

Bree didn't seem to mind living in a cave and feasting on woodland creatures but he knew if it wasn't for her loyalty to him, she would've gone weeks ago, probably to join the coven of the Cullens. The girl wanted a family; she talked and moaned about her old family enough to the point he was half-tempted to just order her away. But he wasn't that big of an idiot, no matter what had occurred in the battle, to let himself be alone and vulnerable. Though he wasn't sure where the aforementioned girl was at the moment, Bree had a tendency to dilly-dally and indulge in girly activities like picking flowers and dancing in meadows.

He didn't really mind, more for him then.

The human girl was making an odd activity of piling leaves, twirling the soaked vegetation with her fingers and generally looking quite calm. From his vantage point, it was easy enough to see her face. At first glance she didn't look anything special, her brown honey-streaked hair gleamed a lighter shade of blonde in the moonlight but her plain face and body that lacked any curves weren't going to make her stand out in the crowd. Though he saw that she was quite tall, around six foot tall, only a few inches shorter than him. If she was going to be remembered, it would be only for her height.

He could feel every part of his body screaming for blood, it had been too long since he had a taste of the right necessities his entire being demanded. At that moment it didn't matter who this girl was, what her damn name was or if people would even care if she disappeared. She was average, nonsensical, and sure her death would cause an uproar, but for how long? Months? Weeks? A year or two?

No, girls like her were never remembered. Perhaps she would be thought of as the girl who was killed and whose ghost still haunted the woods with her thirst for revenge, the perfect idiotic dare among male adolescents.

"Come on, Ange…" His ears perked up as she whispered to herself. "…you can do this; you've seen it before…"

He had no idea whatsoever to what she was talking to herself about but that didn't matter, he needed to feed _now_.

The girl suddenly made a small triumphant noise as, oh hell; a leaf hovered up into the air. The proud smile on the girl's face brightening up her features as more of leaves went up; flying around her in a dance to the music only they could hear.

He was sure his mind was playing tricks on him, the fatigue was doing things to his brain, causing him to imagine things. He'd seen a lot of things since his change but _this _was something else entirely. He just needed to feed and he'd be back to normal again…

He moved quietly, swiftly as not to alert her, he didn't want her to run. He could play with his food later.

He froze at her startled gasp, the leaves falling to the wet earth as she stared up at him from where she was sitting down, her brown eyes were wide with shock, her pulse quickening in fear at the sight of him. She must have seen the hunger in his eyes because she started scrambling away, her long legs and hands digging against the earth to put much distance between them as possible.

He resisted the urge to scowl and moved to grab her but before he could even get marginally close, he was suddenly flung back into the air, his back colliding hard on the trunk of a tree. He remained hovering, suspended in mid-air as some invisible force held him in place.

"What the…" He muttered out as the girl continued to stare at him in horror, her face losing much of its color. He tried to fight against the unseen force but no matter what he did was futile, he was stuck. "Get me down from here," He growled at the human who was lying stupidly on the ground. "_Are you retarded_? I said, get me down!"

She continued to stare at him for a second or two before finally making a move. She ran as fast as her mortal legs could carry her and as soon as she was a good distance away, the force around him disappeared. He crumpled to the ground, wondering to himself what the hell just happened.

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**Angela Weber's appearance is based on how she's described in the books rather in the movies. I got the idea of this because I wanted a fanfic with Riley and something with Angela and then Allison (KaganeTheGreat) gave me an idea and I came up with a plot. Love you, Al. ^^**


	2. With no direction

_Well Now I'm told that this is life  
And pain is just a simple compromise  
So we can get what we want out of it  
Would someone care to classify,  
Of broken hearts and twisted minds  
So I can find someone to rely on_

**- Misguided Ghosts, Paramore**

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After that night where Riley found himself restrained to a tree, the girl didn't even lift a finger to hold him back, a small part of him was awed at what she was able to do. Victoria had told him of vampires with similar powers but never a _human_. He was starting to feel like he was on a really badly written sci-fi novel, his brain hurt every time he thought about the girl, wondering to hell what was going on.

It seemed his questions were about to be answered because there she was again. Normally, a sane person would've ran far away and never come back to the woods again after such an event like last night happened, but the girl was either just brain dead or didn't deem him a threat. He leaned towards the former because the latter would be too much for his ego.

Returning to the dark woods where she knew a monster was lurking, a few days after she was almost killed, was not classified under intelligent. He was beginning to think the human race was really just made up of idiots; he refused to acknowledge the fact that a few months ago, he was part of such a race that lacked common sense and self preservation.

Whatever the girl's reasoning was for returning he wasn't sure but the opportunity to get rid of the bint causing him unnecessary bafflement was presented and Satan knows how much time and energy he'd wasted on trying to figure out what happened. Even when he was still a human, he'd always been known to be a little impulsive, his 'weakness' as Victoria pointed out to him.

The best way of attacking was to go about it swiftly, a quick and easy kill like he always preferred unlike the more aggressive of their coven like Daemon and Erik who played with their food like immature brats. Riley didn't care for such things; he always had something better to do than make humans plead and scream while he tore them apart.

But remembering all the blood spilled from the torture sessions was making the venom pool in his mouth, his teeth gnawing together as he tried to compose himself. It didn't help much though, he already felt himself give in to his more basic of natures and it was only a moment before he was lunging for the girl like some rabid animal. The thirst consumed his senses until the only thing he could focus on was the fragile pulse on her neck, the sound of it like a siren's wail.

She was only barely able to scream as he pinned her to the ground, her scrawny limbs and delicate flesh no match for his strength. The smell of her blood was overwhelming him, running in her veins like liquid fire, that _wonderful _rusty smell wafting off her like the most appetizing perfume. He _had _to take a bite, have a taste of it and he pressed her further into the ground, her pained whimpers and the creaking of her all too breakable bones reverberating in his ears.

She was terrified, the reflection of it in her eyes and her quick breathing made it obvious. The predator in him wanted to laugh in delight and he couldn't stop the chuckle of triumph and hysteria that escaped him. He was so close, she was finally there and he had her, all he had to do was bite down on the veins on her neck, all too visible with how ashen her face had gotten.

With unexpected gentleness, he pushed her hair out of her face, revealing more of her neck; it was long, like a swan's. It was the only part of her she didn't cover up in excessive layers of clothing. Her doe-like eyes continued to stare up at him, the feel of her chest against his own as she hyperventilated made him stop and stare at her for a moment. He waited for her to cry and plead, a part of him _wanted _to see her do it.

He was mildly surprised and disappointed when she didn't and he mentally commended her for her resolve before shrugging it off and bending down. She gasped in surprise as his lips met the soft skin of her neck, her heartbeat thumping impossibly quicker and louder. She was frozen in fear, he thought before he bit down hard, her screams echoing throughout the empty forest.

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**I changed the title because I thought it was too silly. ****One more chapter after this**** and ****Bree makes an appearance in there. 'Daemon' and 'Erik' are tributes to the Vampire Diaries' Damon Salvatore and True Blood's Eric. **


	3. With no conviction

_Misguided ghosts  
Travelling endlessly  
The ones we trusted the most  
Pushed us far away  
And there's no one role  
We should not be the same  
But I'm just a ghost  
And still they echo me  
They echo me in circles_

**- ****Misguided Ghosts, Paramore**

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Vaguely through his bloodlust, he could hear her head beating declining and her screams reducing to whimpers. Her body went limp, softening under his own as he literally sucked the life out of her. She would be dead soon, he concluded, her veins drained out of every drop of blood.

The pain came in small sparks, like electric tingles that went through his brain, stimulating the brain cells awake through the tissue before it became warmth that spread through his blood stream, alighting every cell and nerve ending until it escalated to a burning sensation that engulfed his entire being in a heated frenzy, the discomfort distracting him from the sweet tang of the girl's blood.

He was off the girl in seconds, collapsing on the ground beside her as he panted, the cool air in his lungs doing nothing to appease the fire brimming in his body, smoldering his insides to a point that he was squirming on the dewy grass, wanting to pull his hair out and scratch off all the skin and flesh on his body until he could get to the center of his flaming agony.

Screams escaped him as the burning intensified, tears streaming down his cheeks as he sobbed, begging mentally to something, someone to stop the pain. The invisible flames continued to lick at his skin and burn up his insides as he spiraled into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.

He would awaken days later to find a ridiculously cheerful Bree blabbering away to the human girl, except she wasn't a human anymore. Brown eyes that had looked at him with terror were not glaring at him in distaste and anger, eyes that were now a bright scarlet like his own.

Riley only realized the depth of what he had done as his new born creation tried to ineffectively kill him in all the methods known to mortal men. Staking, drowning in holy water, covering him with so much garlic that he still vaguely smells like the vegetable, hitting him with a silver crucifix on the head, leaving him to bathe in the afternoon sun, all except for beheading, which she was pointedly just about to do until Bree stopped her in time. He'd never admit it but he would probably be dead right then if Bree hadn't stopped her also from feeding him to a bonfire.

The girl only settled for glaring at him in pure unadultered loathing after that, wisely prompting to stay with him and Bree instead of going back home and causing only bloodshed and trouble. 'Angela', as she told them her name (well, she told Bree), was a witch, a descendant of a long line of women that have been studying witchcraft for centuries, keeping it only a secret when the witch hunts started in the 1600s.

She explained to them that her mother had died before she could tell her this little fact and she herself had to find out through a distant relative that finally explained why strange 'accidents' have been happening around her lately. She'd opted to practice her new found powers somewhere far away where her father wouldn't find out about them. It was just unfortunate; the forest she'd chosen was the one _he _was in.

The girl, as Riley still called her, took to ignoring him as best as she could. Usually, hanging around Bree and tolerating the younger girl's ditzy behavior in favor of not spending time with him. She continued to send him death glares.

Bree was the happiest out of the whole situation, the girl was ecstatic at having a new companion, someone else to chatter away to. The young girl hung about their new cohort like a sad little puppy.

He wondered for a moment where the silly girl had gone off to because she was currently out of sight, leaving him and the girl finally alone after all these weeks. Neither party were very happy at the predicament, it was awkward more than anything else, none of them have even had a proper conversation with each other and now here they were with only the other as company.

There was a blue moon that night, some part of him acknowledged the rarity of an event, recalling astronomy lessons in his past college life before he was turned. He haughtily pushed the memories at back of his mind to dwindle with the other meaningless nonsense.

The moonlight cast an ethereal glow to the forest, the wind swaying the trees as if they were dancing and leaves fluttering in the air in carefree motion. The moonlight also made the girl's hair appear more blonde than brown, the wind twirling the locks in a halo around her head, she almost looked angelic, her eyes told of sadness and vulnerability and he had never seen her like this, so poignant and beautiful.

She didn't look at him as she spoke, eyes still downcast on the ripples of water on the pond. "I didn't used to be like this," Her voice was so quiet, just barely a whisper. "I used to be… good," He didn't speak, and she continued. "I used to be this nice and considerate person who always did the right thing. Who was a good daughter, a good sister, a good friend…" She let out a sigh and he was sure she was straining not to cry. "And now? I'm…nothing."

He could only stare at her, drinking in her openness and grief. He was wrong about what he said about her being average and forgettable because there was something about her at that moment that mesmerized him. He didn't know what it was, maybe it was seeing her almost breaking down or it was because she was pouring out her sorrows to him, someone he hated with her whole being, but whatever it was, it enthralled him and he couldn't look away.

"I hate you," She started to cry, tears forming in her eyes. "I hate you, so much."

"Why?" He didn't mean to speak but the question was out of his mouth before he was aware of it.

She stared up at him in surprise, tears suspended from falling. "Because this is your fault,"

He suddenly felt remorse, something he hadn't felt for a long while, for causing this girl so much pain. And all for what exactly? To sate a hunger that he had no control over or wanted? He was damned from the moment he drank her blood and he had, unintentionally, damned her as well.

"I'm sorry," He breathed out. "I really am sorry." He said it as sincerely as possible, wanting to take back what he had done but knowing her never could. That was reality, our mistakes were unchangeable and all we had left to do was to pick up the pieces and try not to give up even when we're broken and torn apart to a point that we're only a pale echo of what we once were.

"I'm sorry," He said again and he pulled her closer to him, wiping the tears out of her eyes like some cliché hero in a novel and as a typical heroine she stared up at him in wonder, not pulling away.

"I'm sorry," He kissed her slowly, lightly; it was an apology, a will to try and undo his wrongdoings. "I'm sorry, "Another kiss and another before she relaxed and accepted his touch, kissing him back and silently, giving him her reply.

He didn't really give much thought before his lips were on hers again. It wasn't the most graceful kiss, certainly not like the ones written in trashy romance novels. It was sloppy and wet, teeth crashing against teeth, nosing bumping but it didn't matter. All their frustration, anger and hurt was poured out into that kiss and she didn't object when he went further, exploring flawless skin and a body he had thought average before but was more than beautiful when it was under him, her arms pulling him closer as she moaned panted in his ear. He took his time, there was no need to rush and he enjoyed every taste and sensation before he spiraled into bliss that made him see white and collapse unto her right after.

Their chests heaved against each other in exertion, both too sated and spent to move. He couldn't help but chuckle for some reason, a bubble of euphoria that consumed him and he felt happier than ever in that moment.

"What's so funny?" She asked him baffled, pulling away from him to look at his face. He only grinned at her and kissed her again, her taste exquisite to him and he had a feeling it always would be.

"I still hate you," She told him stubbornly as she broke away. "I always will."

He couldn't help but chuckle again. "We'll see."

Riley wasn't one to talk about eternity and happily ever after, he was never the type of person that believed in such dribble. He'd never thought about either, even as a human, it was a vague and indistinct concept. And as a vampire, it continued to feel the same but he didn't fear it.

He was born out of blood and anger for the cause of a war and he knew that someday, he would die in blood as well but there was no anger, because for once in his life, in the arms of a strange girl, oddly enough, Riley truly felt loved.


End file.
